Sonoma Cellar - Old Town Alexandria

The seafood and pasta special was delicious. As I'm dairy intolerant, the chef prepared the tomato sauce without the cream. Wine was good and our service was excellent.

Busy but friendly staff, varied menu with small and large plates, cozy but not cramped. Alcohol and beer only. Corn chowder was unpleasantly sweet but scallop dinner was good.
I would go back in good weather to experience the patio out back!

Valentine’s Day with friends. It was the perfect place to have a nice dinner at a nice place where we could hear each other talk.

We doubled with another couple after getting a recommendation from other friend and the evening was nice. We all got the seafood pasta special with home made focaccia and our bowls were clean! Yum. The hostess was also the waitress and that made arriving in their noisy bistro less than effective or best practice, but once seated upstairs, she was very knowledgeable and well timed in her service. Nice night out.

Dinner with friends

We decided to try Sonoma Cellar for Alexandria Restaurant week, and we were not disappointed! I order the bacon and cheese crostini to start, crab stuffed salmon, and then the deconstructed apple pie for dessert. Between the four of us, we had the salmon, steak, veggie lasagna, the potato and leek soup, and the cheesecake. The only complaint I had was the salmon was a tiny little thing. But it was cooked well and tasted amazing. It also took a little while for our server to bring the dessert wine to one of my friends, but it was starting to get busy so it was okay. Our server was very nice and we overall had a really nice time. Everyone enjoyed their food and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice meal!

The server was attentive and had good wine suggestions during the busy restaurant week. Food quality was excellent; nice twists on some traditional items. Will definitely be back!

Food tasted good but portion was very small.

We went to the restaurant with friends that we recommended the restaurant to. Overall great experience, despite wine faux pas. The fixed price menu offered interesting and varied choices, giving a good view of the a la carte menu.

My husband and I between us had the the potato leek soup, the shrimp and grits, and the steak. It was all good and tasty, but all 3 dishes were also quite salty. The desserts we got, strawberry shortcake and apple pie-type dish, were okay. Nothing special. The cake portion of the strawberry shortcake was more dry and hard than I expected, and the full dish was a small portion that was at least 50% whipped cream. I liked the fairly quiet ambiance and bright but relaxing decor, and no complaints with the service. We went during Restaurant Week so I don't know what the normal menu prices are, but it was certainly a good value at the Restaurant Week price.

This was exactly what I wanted. I quiet place with good food where I could hear the conversation. We were well cared for and enjoyed a variety of different dishes all to our liking.

The brunch was good, though not great. The salmon hollandaise didn't have very much salmon. The eggs were poached just right; the hollandaise was creamy though not exceptional. The toast on which the dish rested was soggy and detracted from the rest of the dish. My wife liked her burger. We eat at Sonoma regularly. I would recommend it as a dinner destination versus brunch.

Took advantage of the Alexandria Restaurant Week. The food was great. Tables are close together but not on top of each other. Scott our server was great and he recommended a great wine to go with dessert. Wife had the salmon stuffed with crab and I had the ribeye steak. Everything was cooked to perfection and we both cleaned our plates. Will definitely be back and will recommend to our friends!

The food was very good (salmon and mushroom Risotto) and the young lady who served was also very good.

Great! Only one suggestion: insulate the Windows! We sat at a table at the window on a cold evening, and could literally feel the breeze coming in. We used our menus as wind blockers and the candle for heat. Save money and improve ambiance by getting insulated windows. Thanks

Lovely Sunday brunch. Our selections were wonderful and the mimosas well-priced.

Loved this place! The food was amazing, seriously everyone’s order was outstanding! The presentation was great and the proportions were perfect! The dining area is super cute and comfortable, and not stuffy. I went without my kids, but am definitely planning on being back and wouldn’t feel out of place if I did take my kids. Also met the owner and he’s a very nice, personable guy that seems to really care about his customers. Highly recommend!

Came for the wine - the food was outstanding, definitely coming back

Three scallops and about a quarter cup of grilled corn for $25? The dish was prepared properly and the grilled corn was delicious, but this was not enough food for a meal and I’m not even a big eater. Short ribs were OK as was the hamburger. I was also disappointed at the paltry choice of wines by the glass (about 6 whites and 6 reds). I would expect more from a wine bar. On the other hand, the full wine list included at least one wine bottle for $23. That’s almost unheard of. Overall, though, there many better places to spend your money.

Great Selection of wine, and the menu was different but good. I got the A La Carte Pinot Noir and the Shrimp with zucchini "noodles" and it was delicious and filling. Ended the night with the chocolate cake. Perfection! Would definitely go there again.

Service is the stand out. Food was good but unimpressive. Managment could add better chairs in all spaces

Will give a second try but first time was underwhelming. For a wine bar theme there were few choices for wines by the glass. Appetizers were good. Salad was excellent as were fish tacos. Blueberry cobbler dessert cake so late that we had to get it to go. It was horrible. Not a cobbler but a small blueberry Hot Pocket that was not fully cooked and size of a credit card. Fortunately because it was so late we were not charged.

Food is good, but service is very slow. If you're upstairs (which is the "restaurant" part versus the "tasting area"), it seems like you are easily forgotten about.

Sat at the bar with Jose! Super chill, great experience, great wine!

We sat outside and it was a beautiful night. The service was very disappointing as it took over 20 minutes to have our drink and food orders taken. Our server did not come back to our table very often to check on us.

The food and the ambiance was amazing!

However our server was not attentive she barely engaged with us during our dinner.

Food was great. Had the pork chop, shrimp and pasta, mac & cheese and the charcuterie. Everything was cooked just right. You could tell the servers weren’t experienced but we didn’t have any issues. Food was great but the interior decor needs work.

One of our favorite places to go in Alexandria! The food, atmosphere, service, and wine are all excellent. When the weather is nice, the back patio area is a relaxing place to sit.

Struggled with overall service. 3of us had finished our mains when the 4th got his. Friendly but not good.

Alway fantastic dinner and drinks at Sonoma. We love eating in the courtyard and it did not disappoint. We had an amazing salad and fish tacos that were to die for.

An Alexandria Restaurant Week home run! The fixed menu choices were superb, with many options to choose from. Wine selection was good. The service was outstanding.

We went to Sonoma Cellars for restaurant week, and it was very much worth it. The menu was interesting and thoughtful (unlike 90% of the other restaurants participating in restaurant week), and each item we had was very good. The lentil-cumin chili was a big surprise, I really liked it. My wife loved her paella. Having a port offering as one of the dessert selections was a nice change of pace. Service was also excellent. As you might expect, Sonoma Cellars has a superior wine list, though it could maybe use a bit more breadth in spots.

First time at Sonoma Cellara but not the last. All the food was amazing- I really hope they keep the lentils chili into the cold weather months!

FYI — different from Sonoma on Capitol Hill.

We started on their lovely back patio, but moved upstairs once the rain came. Good food and nice ambiance!

My son, daughter-in-law and I went on one of those HOT days, last Friday night. As soon as we walked in we were met with a cool and refreshing experience. We ate upstairs and enjoyed the quiet (and AC). The food was delicious, and every bite was eaten. My son had the steak and the ladies had the kale salad, one with chicken and one with salmon. Because I’m a Californian, I may be biased, but I think Sonoma Cellar is one of the best restaurants in Old Town, and certainly my favorite.

Interesting that I had to provide a credit card to hold my reservation for 3 for brunch at 11:00 on a Saturday. The downstairs area was completely empty when we arrived and there were 4 other tables seated upstairs. The food was quite good, French toast, veggie omelets and fish tacos. Very disappointed in the service. Before we could even order drinks, a server was trying to give us another tables food. Which happened again later. We ordered an appetizer that never arrived, no offer of refills for iced tea or water. Had to ask for everything. When we left there were 2 other tables seated in the entire restaurant. Not sure if we would try Sonoma again. Expect a lot better service for a $100 brunch for 4 people.

great services, the wine is always excellent and the food was excellent

Cheese and Charcuterie board was delicious. Paired with the foccacia bread made it even better. Went for wine down Wednesday and shared a tasty bottle of Saurvigon Blanc.

Great place! Nice service and food and drink. We like the live music, too. A new, Old Towne favorite for my wife and I.